Living to make much of Jesus

Christian Service: An Unseen Platform

The Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve…Mark 10:45

I remember years ago I was mentoring a teenage girl and we were walking on the track at the YMCA. As I was sharing with her some spiritual insight into her life a thought kept racing through my head, “I hope this woman in front of us is impressed with how spiritual I am.” I soon recognized this as a destructive, prideful thought and surrendered it to the Lord before it stole anymore of my heart.

I have often struggled with the desire to serve out of a personal desire to be seen by others. However, this kind of service falls flat on its face in light of God’s purity. The motivations and intentions of our hearts are always revealed before the throne room of God. The motivation of service must come from pure hands and a clean heart.

Our willingness to serve cannot come from a place of looking at it from the perspective of, “What’s in it for me?” Paul poured himself out like a drink offering and Jesus surrendered His life. We too, should have the same attitude of service; laying down ourselves to pick up the cross of Christ for the sake of those around us.

In the story of the feeding of the 5,000 Jesus responds to the disciples question about how all these people will be fed by asking them a question in return, “What do you have?” Christian service is about coming to God with the little we do have to watch Him multiply it for His kingdom.

Is anyone among you hurting? Is anyone in need? The gospel cause US to help them. The gospel beckons you and I to do something about it. Christians who sit passive on the sidelines waiting for someone else to do something about it miss out on being the hands and feet of the Lord Jesus Christ.

If I am of any worth to my fellow man, it is because I have given myself in service to them. We do not need more people who are superstars, existing only to build their own “Christian” platform and build up their resume for others to be impressed by. We need Christians who are willing to be of little reputation if it means they may make themselves a greater servant for the good of the gospel and the glory of Christ.

Jesus, I’ll be honest, sometimes I make service about me. I like being seen by others, getting a pat on the back and feeling good about how good of a person I am. Father, forgive me for such foolishness. I want to serve you with clean hands and a pure heart. I want the world to see Christ in me. I want to pour myself out like a drink offering, giving you glory for the sake of your gospel and the glory of Christ, amen.